332 "In Englishi"

Li Aoz fell silent.

Disville's statement surprised him greatly.

In the previous game, Star Abyss, there was no concept of the "Hidden Society," not even an entry for it. Li Aoz once thought it was because of the "Recognition Filter" installed by Qiqiao Network, which chose to block all information in order to protect players from being corrupted by the secret society.

If that's the case, then as the person in the abyss who understands society best, Mr. Disville must have long been aware of the structure of the "Hidden Society."

But now, Disville says he knows nothing.

Either he's lying, or it demonstrates that the "secret" capabilities of the "Hidden Society" far exceed Li Aoz's imagination.

First, lying—lying is impossible—hunter mentors swear an oath to the gods not to lie to their companions or conceal the truth.

The oath of the gods in the Star Abyss is the highest guarantee. Even though Granny Atamasha, who provided the Truth Drug to Li Aoz, was already Omega-rank (24), she still had to honestly abide by the oath, not lie, and not use her power in the Abyss.

Not to mention, Disville only has Zeta (6).

The result was obvious... He truly didn't know about the existence of the [Hidden Society], and even the hunters of the entire Star Abyss were unaware of this fact.

['Once Secrecy's Citizen die, no one remembers them except their own kind. If you still remember a citizen's name, it means they are still alive.']

His previous conversation with Jannia came to mind. Li Aoz hadn't understood the meaning of those words before, but now he understood what they meant.

For example, suppose there is a Hidden Citizen named ' Arthur '. During his lifetime, Arthur acted as Hidden Citizen and seemed no different from an ordinary person. He maintained close relationships with his neighbors, relatives and friends. He would call Li Cuihua florist, every week at 10 a. m. to flirt.

Everyone knows Arthur is a good man.

But when Arthur died, from that moment on, he was forgotten by the whole world.

The neighbors who often invited Arthur to dinner would naturally assume that the apartment across the hall was empty, the landlord would put the room that still retained Arthur's warmth up for sale as a new house, and Li Cuihua from the florist would pick up the phone at 10 a. m. on Thursdays to flirt with Old Man Wu next door.

The whole world has forgotten you.

Looking back now, this is actually the self-protection mechanism of a "Hidden Society".

"On White Candle Star, some refugees from Haynes clearly stated that the Hidden Society invaded White Candle Star twice, three thousand years ago and one hundred and twenty years ago, but not only did it not attract attention, the locals quickly forgot the pain, and the damage caused by the Hidden Society seemed to be insignificant."

Li Aoz pulled out some information he had on hand, which, as president, gave him the right to mobilize. "However, compared to that—the damage that Mashige Gang inflicted on us by the [Machine World Society] has yet to be recovered. Look here—this is a statue erected by Luther, the village chief of Blue Chrysanthemum Village, to commemorate his compatriots who perished in the 'Machine World Invasion' disaster."

"This is a film made by the people of the former capital Trivella City, titled ' Under the 《Under the Crescent Moon》,' which documents the history of how the people saved themselves and survived from the clutches of society and terrorists."

"All indications suggest that Gaia, the ' Hidden Society,' is different from other 'societies.' It possesses a unique ability to gradually make people forget the history of invasion and harm."

"This is beyond the capabilities of any previous society..."

Disville is unbelievable:

"Lioz, do you know? If what you said is true, then the [Hidden Society] will be our Star Abyss's most terrifying enemy."

"No need for 'general,' it is already there. Even the very remote Andromeda Galaxy — Azure Planet —has discovered hidden traces."

Li Aoz turned on the tablet's projector and pointed out, "When I was investigating the ' Hidden Society,' I discovered that they all shared a common characteristic."

"Is this... a language?"

"Yes."

Li Aoz said:

"Members of the [Hidden Society], once successfully corrupted, will innately learn a language unlike any other region or civilization in Star Abyss. Among them, the Hidden Society members all share the same impression of this language: English."

"English? Forced historical revisionism? Forced isolation? Interest should be paid?"

Disville frowned.

"Simply put, Hidden Citizen speak 'English'."

Li Aoz made a rather conservative suggestion:

"From this perspective, we must completely exterminate all creatures that speak and communicate in English. Only in this way can we guarantee the absolute safety of Star Abyss."

"... The secret is a society from another universe. That's so strange. We always thought that all the other universes had been wiped out by the Three Great Destroyers, and that we were the only survivors." Disville exclaimed, "This discovery alone is enough to earn you the highest award in history."

"It seems we are not alone now, but that's not a good thing," Li Aoz said seriously. "The Hidden Ones have a unique poisonous blood. Unless you stop breathing, you will definitely be harmed. I almost died from this ability."

"How many civilizations don't breathe? There are only a handful of elemental organisms, and even silicon-based organisms can't do without respiration."

Disville shook his head; this was really a problem. "English... English, it sounds strange, but it feels kind of familiar."

"Sounds familiar?" Li Aoz in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Lioz, according to the information you provided, English has 26 basic letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G..."

Disville was very intelligent and quickly learned the language. He then picked up a pen and wrote the English letters one by one in the air, and then wrote the letters below:

α, β, γ, δ...

"There are 24 levels, from Alpha (α) to Omega (Ω).

Disville pointed to two rows of letters and said suspiciously:

"Don't you think... α and A look exactly the same from a certain angle? β looks a lot like B, and Delta sounds like the English word Delta, which also happens to start with D..."

Li Aoz frowned. "You mean, the English used covertly is a alphabet that corresponds to social class, and they share a common origin?"

"It's just a guess."

Disville lifted his chin and said in a deep voice:

"Lioz, do you know how the alphabetical order of social classes came about?"

"I don't know," Li Aoz shook his head.

"This alphabet is called the Hellenic Alphabet, a name you may not be familiar with. It's not the language of the Abyss. It comes from a very ancient narrative: the Narrative No. 5 —'The Eternal Corridor,' the limit we've reached so far."

Disville pondered for a moment and said, "In the language of the Narrative No. 5, ' The Eternal Corridor,' every word has only one meaning, emphasizing absolute rigor and focus. The word 'Helennick' is no exception."

"It means: ingenious."